  BeefTalk:
Thin Cows or Fat Cows--Which is Better?
By Kris Ringwall, Extension Beef Specialist,
NDSU Extension Service
The calves are weaned. The steers have filled the pre-conditioning pens. The
heifers are awaiting transportation to crop aftermath and standing corn. The
cows are giving up control of their calves. The cows, while actively gobbling up
whatever crop aftermath and standing corn they can reach, are scheduled for
their final evaluation--keep or cull--during the last week of November.
Excess cows need to be processed in time to make the bred cow sales, and cull
cows simply need to move into the marketing channel.
The North Dakota State University Dickinson Research Extension Center does
not feed cattle long term, and cull cows coming off standing corn would receive
little benefit from a stay in the feedlot. This is also the time the cows are
treated for external parasites. The cows are weighed, pregnancy verified and
treated. Upon leaving the chute, the cows are sorted by condition score and
penned accordingly for the winter.
Although there may be many ways to manage cows, if I were to pick one
management practice above the others, I would choose sorting cows. The boss cow
syndrome is very real. Cows in poor condition at the beginning of winter have
virtually no opportunity to compete with better-conditioned, stronger cows once
the snow flies, the temperature dips and the belly starts filling with a rapidly
growing calf.
I prefer to stick with hard data; however, I am not sure all the data is in
when handling cows in preparation for winter. There is a raft of unanswered
questions. Generally, cows that go into the winter in good condition have a much
better chance of coming out of the winter in good condition. Similarly, if a cow
can be supplied with her nutrient needs daily, she only needs to be kept in
average condition and should stay in average condition.
In the cow world, a real dilemma exists between meeting daily needs versus
the need for the cow to store up fat for those days when daily nutrient needs
cannot be met. How many producers can guarantee daily nutrient needs?
At the Center, we can’t meet that requirement, so the question becomes how
often can we, and how much fat should a cow store to glide over the days when
nutrition is not adequate. If a cow loses one condition score, the bottom line
impact is really dependent on the condition she was in to begin with.
Ultimately, the crisis for poorly conditioned cows hits home when peak
nutritional demands arrive when the calf is born and the cow begins lactation.
Now the cow needs to work, and unfortunately, the ability to separate thin cows
from the whole herd generally quickly diminishes as the calving season
progresses.
The boss cow is still the boss, and with a new baby by her side, the odds of
the thin cow ever catching up are slim to none. So how much should a cow gain in
the fall?
Following the discussion of utilizing cows as corn choppers, Chip Poland, the
Center’s nutritionist, noted, "Calculating the advantage or disadvantage
of 191 pounds of gain and 2.5 units of body condition will need to wait for
another day."
Obviously, 2.5 units of body condition seems excessive for efficient
utilization of standing corn; however, we are still probing for the right amount
with hopes of balancing the right amount of condition with the effective use of
a less labor-intensive system of beef production. For now, the target still
remains standing: How do we obtain moderate to good condition of all the cows
without having any too thin or too fat? No one ever said moving targets were
easy to hit. May you find all your ear tags.
Your comments are always welcome at www.BeefTalk.com.
For more information, contact the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement
Association, 1133 State Avenue, Dickinson, ND 58601 or go to www.CHAPS2000.COM
on the Internet. In correspondence about this column, refer to BT0117.
###
Source: Kris Ringwall, (701) 483-2427, kringwal@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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Graphic --
Cow Body Condition Scores
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Condition Score Description
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Thin
1 Severely emaciated.
Weak with no palpable fat.
2 Emaciated but not weak.
3 Very Thin with prominent ribs,
pin bones visible.
Moderate
4 Thin with individual muscles,
ribs and pin bones visible.
5 Moderate condition with ribs
and muscles less apparent.
6 Good, with a smooth appearance
throughout.
Fat
7 Very good, with a full brisket
and evidence of fat throughout.
8 Obese, with distended fat deposits.
9 Very obese fat.
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Adapted from Wagner, Oklahoma State University, MP-117
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